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Idiot parents are smashing their kids’ stuff for likes on TikTok
Oh you got a C on your report card? Now daddy has to smash your TV that he just finished paying for.
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We’ve all seen it before. Little Johnny got a bad report card so his dad decides to take out his PlayStation and run it over with the car in the driveway. Oh, and he films it so he can see how many likes he can get on social media. Well, now that trend is making its way over to the ridiculously popular short-form video app, TikTok.
With the rise in popularity of the app, some parents have found a new platform where they can publicly shame their kids. One famous TikTok user, Derek Hensley amassed a whopping 10 million views on a video that he posted where his daughter slams her door, and he removes the door as her punishment.
Obviously, this type of sociopathic behavior has received some very negative feedback. Commenters said things like “this is why I don’t speak with my father anymore” and “violence will only lead to more violence.” While I wouldn’t argue against the punishment itself, the public shaming nature is just simply repulsive.
Sure, children should be disciplined and taught when they make mistakes, but not for the whole world to see. This just screams trust issues, and I can’t fathom why a parent would do something like this.
Fake or not, this TikTok content is pretty repulsive
Of course, after receiving many negative responses and even death threats, Hensley admitted to the Wall Street Journal that all of his “discipline” videos are staged.
“My kids aren’t actually being punished in my videos,” he said. “If my kids are being disciplined, it’s not on camera, but they’re rarely in trouble anyway.” However, even these kinds of videos can be a bit dangerous. Aforementioned sociopaths see these videos and think, “hey, this is a great way to embarrass my children and get likes at the same time.”
And that is just what happens. Late last year, a “mother” in the US took over the TikTok account of her son, who is transgender. The mother posted on her son’s account, demanding that people call her son by the name that she gave him at birth, all while her son sat there, visibly distraught. This led to a massive social justice movement across social media, with people raising funds to get the child out of the nasty situation.
While this trend is just now making its way to TikTok, it is certainly nothing new. Parents have been exploiting their kids in this way for likes on YouTube and other platforms for years. It is a disgusting trend and makes me sick to my stomach every time I see a new one.
While it does seem that the majority of these videos are staged, that definitely cannot be said about all of them. Though it may be a way for some families to create content together, the fake videos are what lead to real abusive situations, like the one mentioned above. The bottom line is that punishing your children in the public eye is a disgusting trend that has no real place in our society.
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Editors’ Recommendations:
- Fast Laughs is Netflix’s take on TikTok and it is now available on iOS
- YouTube Shorts, yet another TikTok clone, is getting a US beta release this Spring
- Telegram tops TikTok to become the most downloaded app in January 2021
- President Biden is putting a stop to TikTok’s sale to Oracle, Walmart